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Some movies achieve their infamy based on their content. They become classics or crap because of what is actually up on the screen. Then there are those titles that, while seemingly inauspicious in their debut, take on greater significance as the franchise moves forward. Such is the case with Sean S. Cunningham's Halloween riff. Inspired by the John Carpenter hit, the films of Mario Bava, and his own success with fellow fright filmmaker Wes Craven (he helped produce Last House on the Left), Friday the 13th would go on to be a "monster" success for Paramount, spawning 10 sequels and a formidable fan base that sees nothing wrong in celebrating a sick spree killer and his unwholesomely high body counts. Yet to look at it now, you'd never guess it was so important.

In 1958, Camp Crystal Lake was the scene of a notorious double murder. It closed down amid scandal and a soiled reputation. Now, 20 years later, Steve Christy (Peter Brouwer), the new owner of the property, wants to reopen it. He hires a group of counselors and invites them out to the location for help fix up the place. Little do they know, there's another in their midst, an individual bent on revenge for the events that took place all those years ago. As a horrific storm hits, the group indulges in some random sex and drugs, unaware that, lurking outside the cabins, a killer awaits.

Everyone knows Halloween was John Carpenter's baby. Ditto Wes Craven and A Nightmare on Elm Street. But here's a quick trivia question: Who directed Friday the 13th, which came out in the same era as these flicks and stands as the third leg of an unholy trinity of modern horror classics? Well, it was of course Sean S. Cunningham. The inimitable Sean S. Cunningham who has gone on to produce entries from all three series, including the upcoming Halloween 9.